Sports Beat: There is safety in numbers

By Pat McCann | News Herald Executive Sports Editor

Published: Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 03:48 PM.

Just as there are some fans who believe the head coach of their favorite team can flip a switch at halftime and miraculously turn a 24-point deficit into victory, there are those among us waiting for defense to again become a prominent phase in football.

More likely, it soon will become the least dominant factor compared to offenses parading hell-bent up and down the field and special team units scoring by kicking and returning.

This isn’t our daddy’s football, and sooner or later we’ll have to accept that the safety concerns for those risking their health to play the game override our desire to view the violence we’re more familiar with. Especially on the high school level, where nationwide five boys already have died since practice opened in August.

All sports evolve in cycles and football, especially the game currently being played in the high schools and colleges, is in the whirlwind of fast-paced offenses and quarterbacks who look as though they emerged from the womb throwing the back-should fade.

Finals approaching college basketball scoreboards will increase in number into the near future. The reasons are obvious.

Safety: It starts with younger ages and is evident with the high schools. We’ve all but witnessed the disappearance of two-a-days in pre-fall and there has been a decrease in the number of full-contact practices allowed by the state league prior to the first game. While clearly understandable, their absence doesn’t translate into stout defense.

Rules: Aside from the chop block on defensive lineman while engaged with another blocker, almost all of the recent rule changes aid the offense. They include the horse-collar tackle, contact allowable by defenders before a pass is thrown and targeting unprotected skill players. Again, some of these changes make the game safer, but in total don’t aid the mentality of players on defense competing with reckless abandon.

Just as there are some fans who believe the head coach of their favorite team can flip a switch at halftime and miraculously turn a 24-point deficit into victory, there are those among us waiting for defense to again become a prominent phase in football.

More likely, it soon will become the least dominant factor compared to offenses parading hell-bent up and down the field and special team units scoring by kicking and returning.

This isn’t our daddy’s football, and sooner or later we’ll have to accept that the safety concerns for those risking their health to play the game override our desire to view the violence we’re more familiar with. Especially on the high school level, where nationwide five boys already have died since practice opened in August.

All sports evolve in cycles and football, especially the game currently being played in the high schools and colleges, is in the whirlwind of fast-paced offenses and quarterbacks who look as though they emerged from the womb throwing the back-should fade.

Finals approaching college basketball scoreboards will increase in number into the near future. The reasons are obvious.

Safety: It starts with younger ages and is evident with the high schools. We’ve all but witnessed the disappearance of two-a-days in pre-fall and there has been a decrease in the number of full-contact practices allowed by the state league prior to the first game. While clearly understandable, their absence doesn’t translate into stout defense.

Rules: Aside from the chop block on defensive lineman while engaged with another blocker, almost all of the recent rule changes aid the offense. They include the horse-collar tackle, contact allowable by defenders before a pass is thrown and targeting unprotected skill players. Again, some of these changes make the game safer, but in total don’t aid the mentality of players on defense competing with reckless abandon.

Culture: It’s a sign of the times that seldom are young boys seen playing tackle football sans equipment on a Saturday morning. Tackling is just as much a learned skill as passing and receiving, and the younger generation just hasn’t had as many opportunities to develop that fundamental. Neither are what in retrospect seem like draconian coaching methods allowable in our society. A local coach told me that as recent as 25 years ago he ran the “Oklahoma drill” nearly every day in practice. Not only are there some prep players who’ve probably never heard of that training method, their parents might not be too appreciative of the violent collisions it produces.

Summer practice: The vogue is 7-on-7 passing leagues for the high schools which basically provide a flag football experience for passers and receivers and enable them to hone those abilities. If those leagues also enhance play in the secondary that has not become readily apparent.

Onfield leadership: Offenses have a number of ways to shift into challenging formations that necessitate instant communication between defensive players to align accordingly. Consider this one observation that today’s teenagers are very adept at communicating with their fingers in accessing ever-changing technology but aren’t as proficient vocally.

The result is that we’ll still see some final scores in the teens and 20s, but they are going to become more and more a rarity. Offensive records will continue to tumble unless a reverse trend occurs and coaching staffs suddenly begin overloading defensive units with their best athletes.

By then, the question could become: Who is going to want to play there?